Helical feeding mechanism for spring assembly machine



March 31, 1970 c. o. KIRCHNER 3,

HELICAL FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SPRING ASSEMBLY MACHINE Filed June 12, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 13 ET l W x 5 Z INVENTOR.

z/rl QMFVZW ATTOE/VfYS March 31, 1970 c. o. KIRCHNER 7 3,503,115

HELICAL FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SPRING ASSEMBLY MACHINE Filed June 12, 1967 s Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. C461 0. 15/56 1 /11/518 A TTOE/VDS aw igw March 31, 1970 c. Q KIRCH'NER I 3,503,115

HELICAL'FEE ID ING MECHANISM FOR SPRING ASSEMBLY MACHINE Filed June 12. 1967 s Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. (4/81 0. fl/ECf/A/Be z/m i Kg,

United States Patent O U.S. Cl. 29-208 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus including a plurality of feed rolls and mechanism for supporting and feeding one helical tie wire at a time into engagement with the terminal convolutions of two adjacent rows of coil springs. The feeding mechanism includes cylinder means located on one axial side of the rolls coaxial with the feedline of the helical tie wire, and spaced edge means on the other side of said rolls extending transversely of the feedline and arranged to move the helical tie wires from a supply thereof into a single row whereby finger means can select and discharge one helical tie wire at a time from said row.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This application relates in general to a spring assembly machine and, more particularly, to a mechanism for advancing the helical tie wires, one at a time, into engagement with a plurality of coil springs for the purpose of forming a spring assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Many machines have been developed and are in use for arranging and interconnecting coil springs by means of helical tie wires (often called helicals) to form a unitized spring assembly of such coil springs, after which the assembly is then covered with padding and/or sheet material or the like, for example, to provide innerspring cushions, mattresses and the like. In the many years during which the development of more effective machinery has been constantly advanced, one problem has consistently avoided satisfactory solution. Specifically, there has been a definite need for an apparatus, which can auto matically select one helical from a plurality of such helicals placed substantially at random Within a hopper or the like for holding the helicals, and then feed the selected helical into engagement with coil springs. Presently, the helicals must be carefully prearranged so that they can be mechanically fed, one at a time, into engagement with the coil springs, or they must be handfed.

In order to solve the problem, it was first necessary to recognize that the problem actually had two separate parts, namely, (1) providing a mechanism for selecting one helical at a time from a group and moving it into the feeding position, and (2) arranging a group of the helicals so that just one of the helicals at a time can be so selected. Moreover, such selecting mechanism also appeared to necessitate a modification of the helical-advancing rolls so that the selected helical could be moved into a position of engagement by such rolls without affecting adversely the feeding capabilities of the rolls.

Accordingly, a primary object of the invention has been the provision of a helical-feeding apparatus including mechanism for first arranging a plurality of helicals in predetermined positions with respect to each other and thereafter selecting one of the helicals from such plurality while, at the same time, moving at least one of a plurality of cooperating feed rolls out of its normal feeding position so that the selected helical can drop into the zone between the feed rolls for engagement and 3,503,115 Patented Mar. 31, 1970 ICC prompt advancement thereby into the spring assembly machine.

A further object of this invention is the provision of an apparatus, as aforesaid, which will supply helicals for interlacing advancement along the feedline as quickly and as accurately as any previous means or method available, including a handfed operation, and which can be automatically coordinated with the operation of the entire spring assembly machine.

Other objects and purposes of the invention will become apparent to persons familiar with this type of equipment upon reading the following descriptive material and examining the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a portion of a spring assembly machine including the apparatus of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragment of a plan view of a spring assembly produced by said machine.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragment of FIGURE 1 showing the apparatus of the invention.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view substantially as taken along the line IV-IV in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along the line V-V in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view similar to that appearing in FIGURE 5 with parts thereof in different positions of operation.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VIIVII in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 8 is a schematic front view of the helicalfeeding mechanism and the spring assembler,

For convenience in description, the terms upper, lower and words of similar import will have reference to the apparatus of the invention and parts of the assembly machine associated therewith as appearing in FIGURES 4, 5 and 6. The terms leading and trailing will have reference to the rightward and leftward ends, respectively, of a helical and parts of the apparatus associated therewith as appearing in FIGURE 4. The terms inner, outer and derivatives thereof will have reference to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of said machine and parts of said apparatus associated therewith. The terms front, rear and words of similar import will have reference to the left and right sides, respectively, of the structure and parts of the machine associated therewith as appearing in FIGURES 5 and 6.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The objects and purposes of the invention, including those set forth above, have been met by providing an apparatus including a feed mechanism having a cylindrical member for guiding a helical into engagement with the terminal convolutions of two rows of adjacent coil springs. A plurality of rolls, here three, define a helical-engaging zone, and one of the rolls is movable into and out of the helical-engaging position so that a helical can be dropped into the said zone. The apparatus also includes a sorting and selecting mechanism having a pair of spaced edges arranged to receive helicals therebetween and thereafter guide them into a row which is preferably substantially vertical. A pair of reciprocable fingers are disposed near the lower end of said row to support the helicals and select the lowermost one of the helicals in said row and discharge it into said zone between said rolls. The feed mechanism then advances the helical into engagement with the coil springs in the usual manner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to FIGURE 1, a spring assembly machine 10 is schematically illustrated in combination with a device 11 for advancing coil springs from a forming machine 12 to said assembly machine 10. Parts of the 3 device 11 are disclosed in the copending application Ser. No. 656,109 of Carl Kirchner and John King filed on July 26, 1967 and assigned to the assignee of this application.

The assembly machine 10 includes a helical selecting and feeding apparatus 12 having helical-feeding mechanism 14 which is supported by the frame structure 16 (FIGURE 4) upon the base of the machine. The frame structure 16 comprises a bed plate 17 having an upright frame member 18 affixed to its upper surface by any convenient means, such as welding. A plate 21 is secured to the upper flange of the structural member 18 so that it is disposed above and parallel to the bed plate 17 and the right end (FIGURE 4) of the plate 21 overhangs the structural member 18.

An L-shaped frame member 22 (FIGURE 4) is secured to the right end of the plate 21 and supports an upright guide plate 23 by the bolts 24. A bracket 26 is supported upon and extends upwardly from the upper surface of the frame member 22. An L-shaped frame member 27 is secured to the upper surface of the bracket 26 and supports a guide plate 28 secured thereto by bolts 29 (FIGURE The guide 28 is parallel with and spaced from the guide plate 23. The front end (FIGURE 5) of the guide plate 28 is provided with an opening 30. The parallel guide plates 23 and 28, which comprise positioning means for the helicals, are preferably provided with an adjustable spacing therebetween which is preferably equal to one and one-half times the pitch of the helicals H, which are aligned therebetween as illustrated in FIGURE 3.

The guide plate 23 has a first edge 31 which is, in this particular embodiment, vertical as illustrated in FIGURE 5. The plate 23 has a second edge 32 which is preferably an upward extension of the edge 31 and is inclined front- Wardly with respect to the vertical. The guide plate 28 has a vertical guiding edge 33, parallel with the edge 31 on the plate 23, and an upper guiding edge 34 which extends from the edge 33 and is inclined rearwardly with respect to the vertical.

The guide edges 32 and 34 define a downwardly converging hopper 35 for the helicals H. The guide edges 31 and 33 are preferably overlapped by an amount approximately equal to the inside diameter of a helical H. Thus, when each helical reaches the lower end of the hopper 35, and the guide edges 32 and 34 cause it to move between the edges 31 and 33, the helicals H line up in a vertical row between said edges 31 and 33, one on top of the other. The helicals H are received into the hopper 35 by the guide edges 32 and 34 so that the leading ends thereof project rightwardly from the guide plates 23 and 28.

A guide block 36 is secured to the guide plate 28 along the righthand side thereof by any conventional means, such as the bolts 29 which secure the plate 28 to the frame member 27. The guide block 36 has a slot 38 in the surface thereof which bears against the right-hand side of the plate 28. The slot 38 extends the full length of the block 36 as illustrated in dotted lines in FIGURE 5.

Dispensing means including a pair of upper and lower fingers 41 and 42, respectively, are slideably disposed within the slot 38 and extend outwardl from both ends of the block 36, as illustrated in FIGURE 5. The rear end 43 of the finger 41 is provided with a pointed end 43, and both fingers are constructed so that they can project across the gap between the vertical edges 31 and 33 to support a row of helicals H disposed between the edges 31 and 33. In this embodiment, the pointed end 43 on the finger 41 is spaced above the fiat upper surface of the finger 42 by a predesignated distance X, which is slightly greater than the radius of the helical. Thus, the point will, when moved rightwardly, project between the two lowermost helicals, as illustrated in FIGURE 6.

A lever 46 is pivotally secured to the guide plate 28 by a pin 47 extending through the opening 30. A link 48 is pivotally secured to the up er end of the lever 46 by a pin 49, and a link 51 is pivotally secured to the lever 46 at a point below the pivot pin 47 by a pin 52. The rear ends of the links 48 and 51 are pivotally secured to the front ends of the fingers 41 and 42 by pins 53 and 54, respectively. A spring 56 is connected to and held under tension between the lower end of the lever 46 and the tower portion of the guide plate 23.

A solenoid 44 is secured to a frame member 45 (FIG- URES 3, 5 and 6) by plurality of bolts 40 so that said solenoid is axially aligned lengthwise with the lower finger 42. The solenoid armature 50, which is also aligned with the lower finger 42, is fastened thereto by a pin 54 and is reciprocated by the solenoid 44.

A hook-shaped receiver 58 is secured, in this particular embodiment, to the block 36 by one of the bolts 29, which extends through a slot 61 in the shank 62 thereof, whereby to permit adjustment thereof with respect to said block 36. The book portion 63 of the receiver 58 is positioned below the row of helicals normally supported by the finger 42.

The helical-driving device 66 is supported by a frame member 67 secured to the said plate 17 by any conventional means, such as welding. The helical-driving device 66 is preferably positioned under the overhanging, leading ends of the helicals contained on the hopper 35. The helical-driving device 66 comprises a bearing structure 68 upon which a plurality of rolls 71, 72 and 73 are rotatably supported by the shafts 76, 77 and 78, respectively. The rolls 71, 72 and 73 are grouped around, and preferably equidistant from, the extended axis of the helical feedline or axis 79 (FIGURES 3, 4 and 7), which is the axis of the helical H supported by the receiver 58 in its normal position. The rolls 71, 72 and 73 are all driven clockwise (FIGURE 7) by an appropriate gear train 81 connected to the shafts 76, 77 and 78. The roll 73 is mounted on a lever 82 pivotally secured to the shaft 83 supporting one of the gears in the gear train 81. A solenoid 86 is secured to the frame member 67 and has an armature 87 attached to the lever 82 to pivot the roll 73, attached thereto, into and out of its driving position.

The descriptive material set forth hereinabove discloses a helical-feeding mechanism 14 for tying together the lower end convolutions of two rows of coil springs. However, a similar feeding mechanism 14A (FIGURE 8) can be used for effecting the engagement of a helical with the upper end convolutions of said coil springs. This mechanism includes upper helical guide plates, three driving rolls and a guide tube.

OPERATION Although the operation of the apparatus embodying the invention has been indicated somewhat above, said operation will be described in detail hereinbelow for a further understanding of the invention.

A plurality of helicals H are loosely placed within the hopper 35, as illustrated in FIGURES 4, 5 and 6, so that the leading ends of the helicals extend beyond the right side of the guide plates and overhang the driving device 66. The operator may then actuate a switch (not shown) which energizes the solenoid 86 to retract the roll 73 into its dotted line position illustrated in FIGURE 7. At about the same time, the solenoid 44 is actuated to move the lower finger 42 frontwardly from the FIGURE 5 position to the FIGURE 6 position. Since the link 48 connected to the finger 41 is on the opposite side of the pivot pin 47 from the link 51 connected to finger 42, the finger 41 moves rearwardly as the finger 42 moves frontwardly. Thus, the pointed end 43 of the finger 41 (FIGURE 5 is moved between the lowermost helical H and the next adjacent helical H2 in the row of helicals, so that when the finger 42 is moved to its FIGURE 6 position, the lowermost helical H1 is free to fall under the pull of gravity onto the hook-shaped receiver 58 and thereby "become aligned with the feedline 79 for subsequent movement into the tube 88. The remaining helicals H in said row thereof are supported on the upper surface of the finger 41 as illustrated in FIGURE 6.

After a selected period of time, the solenoids 44 and 86 are de-energized whereupon the roll 73 is moved back to the solid line position illustrated in FIGURE 7, and the fingers 41 and 42 are returned to their FIGURE 5 positions. The rolls 71, 72 and 73, which now embrace the helical H1 therebet-ween, are rotated by the gear train 81 (and driving means not shown). The pressure of said rolls on the helical H1 will rotate same and, due to the structure thereof, will propel it rightwardly, as indicated by the arrow A in FIGURE 4, along the feedline 79 through the tube 88 and into the jaws 89 of the spring assembly machine 10. The helical encircles adjacent parts of the terminal convolutions of said coil springs 91 and 92 to form a unitized spring assembly as illustrated in FIGURE 2.

When the solenoid 44 is de-energized, the tension spring 56 returns the lever arm 46 from the FIGURE 6 position to the FIGURE 5 position resulting in a corresponding return of the fingers 41 and 42 to the position also illustrated in FIGURE 5. As a result, the next adjacent helical H2 moves downwardly under the pull of gravity so that it is supported on the finger 42 as illustrated in FIGURE 5. Thus, the operation of selecting but one helical to be projected into the tubular guide member 88 and jaws 89 can be repeated as long as there is a supply of helicals between the guide edges 31 and 33.

Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed above for illustrative purposes, it will be understood that variations or modifications thereof, which lie within the scope of the appended claims, are fully contemplated.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a machine for interconnecting a helical with the terminal convolutions of a plurality of coil springs arranged in two rows, said machine including jaw means for holding said terminal convolutions adjacent a helical feed axis, the combination comprising:

plural roll means axially parallel with and grouped around said feed axis, said roll means defining a helical-receiving zone therebetween, one of said roll means being movable transaxially with respect to the other rolls;

positioning means for holding a plurality of helicals, at

least some of said helicals being arranged in a row substantially parallel with said feed axis;

dispensing means located between said positioning means and said feed axis and adapted to dispense the one of said helicals at an end of said row transaxially into said helical-receiving zone;

first actuating means for moving said one roll means;

and

second actuating means for rotating said roll means after said one helical has been moved into said helical-receiving zone and said one roll means has moved into engagement with said one helical, whereby said one helical is advanced along said feedline and into engagement with said terminal convolutions.

2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said dispensing means comprises:

first finger means for supporting said row of helicals in substantially vertical alignment;

second finger means insertable between said one helical and the next helical adjacent thereto;

linkage means connected to said first and second finger means for moving said first finger means out of said supporting position after said second finger means has moved between said one helical and said next helical, whereby said one helical drops into said zone.

3. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said positioning means comprises a pair of substantially parallel, guide plates having a first pair of spaced and vertical guide edges extending transversely of said feed axis and having a second pair of guide edges converging downwardly toward and connecting respectively with the upper ends of said first guide edges whereby a plurality of helicals are moved by gravity into a substantially vertical row of helicals supported upon said dispensing means.

4. In a machine for interconnecting a helical with the terminal convolutions of a plurality of coil springs to form a spring assembly, said machine having jaw means for holding two rows of coil springs with their terminal convolutions in adjacent positions along a helical feed axis, the combination comprising:

guide means axially aligned with said feed axis for directing a helical into engagement with said adjacent convolutions; plural, axially parallel roll means parallel with and grouped around the feed axis to define a helicalreceiving zone through which said axis extends, one of said roll means being movable transaxially with respect to the other roll means out of helical-engaging position; storage means for supporting a plurality of helicals substantially parallel with and spaced laterally from said feed axis, one end of each of said helicals being overlapped axially with said roll means, at least some of said helicals being arranged in an upright row for movement into said zone when said one roll means is moved out of said helical-engaging position; first finger means for supporting said row of helicals; second finger means insertable between the first and second helicals at the lower end of said row;

linkage means connected to said first and second finger means for moving said first finger means out of supporting position after said second finger means is inserted between said first and second helicals, whereby said first helical can drop into said zone;

support means adjacent said first and second finger means limiting downward movement of said first helical when same is released from support by said first finger means; and

means for rotating said roll means after said one roll means is moved into said helical-engaging position, whereby a said helical is advanced through said guide means along said feed axis and into engagement with said terminal convolutions of said coil springs.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS THOMAS H. EAGER, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 29-211 

